


Thank the Termites

by InsightfulInsomniac



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Fluff, George needs a place to stay, Humor, Joe reluctantly agrees, M/M, Moving In Together, One Night Stands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 10:12:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11228829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsightfulInsomniac/pseuds/InsightfulInsomniac
Summary: When termites ruin the structure of his apartment building, George needs a place to stay and Joe is his best option. Despite their previous friends-with-benefits relationship, they attempt to be normal friends. Nothing goes to plan, as usual.





	Thank the Termites

**Author's Note:**

> This idea popped into my head while writing some angsty Luztoye, so I temporarily abandoned it to write this fic. 
> 
> Also, flirty Joe gives me life, so he appears a bit amongst the usual stoic Joe we all know and love.

"Look, I really need your help, man," George pleads, clutching his single suitcase as he stands outside of his apartment building, temporarily homeless.

An exasperated sigh echoes from over the phone. "Fine, you can stay with me. What the hell happened again?"

"I'll explain when I get there," George replies, fishing his car keys out of his pocket. "Thanks, Joe. You're a real pal."

"Yeah, yeah. Do me a favor and pick up some milk on the way over. I'm out."

He grins. "Grocery shopping. How domestic! You gonna cook for me too?"

"Just shut up and get my goddamn milk."

The other end of the line goes flat, the beeps of an ended call ringing in George's ear. But for how shitty his day has been, he's feeling pretty good. He even gets a parking space close to the storefront, and George Luz will always count that as a win in his book.

Standing in the dairy aisle practically freezing to death, he suddenly has the realization that he had no idea what type of milk Joe drinks. George is a 2% guy himself, but Joe's all into that fitness crap. He probably drinks skim, but he could be one of those lunatics who insist that goat's milk is the way to go (George had an unfortunate encounter with goat's milk at Frank's place. He had apparently read a study that concluded that goat's milk strengthens one's teeth, and George had a bowl of cereal at his house not long after. He still shudders at the memory).

So George does the only sane thing to do, which is to call Joe up to ask what kind of milk he prefers.

"What now, Luz?"

"What kind of milk do you like?" He asks without hesitation, shuffling out of the path of an errant shopping cart being pushed by an excited kid. "Jesus, I never realized how many types of milk there were!"

"Skim. And check the expiration dates; they always put the best shit in the back."

"D'ya care what brand? 'Cause this Valley Farm milk is buy one get one free."

"Jesus Christ, Georgie; I don't care. Just get some fucking skim milk."

George chuckles. "Alright, fine. I'll be home soon."

"If you're callin' my place home, you'd better be bringing along a bed and another room. 'Cause right now you're on the couch."

"I'd expect nothing less."

George leaves the grocery store with a gallon of skim milk, a (free!) gallon of 2%, and some Frosted Mini-Wheats, because he's sure as hell Joe doesn't have his favorite sugary cereal.

Ten minutes later, Joe opens the door to a weary, albeit grinning, George.

"Hey, roomie!"

Joe sighs. "What the fuck have I gotten myself into?"

Luz just laughs and brushes past him, unloading the grocery bags onto the counter. He can feel Toye approach him from behind, practically glaring over his shoulder. "I thought you were getting skim milk!"

"Jesus, calm down," George half-laughs, gesturing to the other plastic bag. "It's in there. I just can't drink that watered-down crap."

Joe's eyes bore into the back of his head. "How long are you going to be staying here?"

Luz sighs. "I have no idea. Fucking termites, man. Apparently they ate through the structure of my entire apartment building, and it's no longer safe to live there. According to my landlord, it could collapse with one wrong breath."

"Holy shit. I'm sorry," Toye replies, a genuine look of concern ghosting across his face. "You can stay as long as you need; forget what I said."

He gets a small smile in return. "Thanks, Joe. My other options were Perco or The Golden Trio, and both of those choices are less than favorable."

Joe nods in sympathy. "Well, mi casa es su casa. Sorry there isn't a spare bedroom."

Luz shrugs. "Hey, it's a place to sleep. I appreciate it."

Toye rubs the back of his neck as they stand in awkward silence, George returning his attention to the groceries. The next thing he knows, there's a pile of fluffy blankets and pillows on the couch that was bare just a few moments ago, with a sheepish Toye standing next to them.

"Do you get cold at night? 'Cause I get really hot so I turn the AC up."

"Uh, yeah, I do. Thanks."

Joe nods, sticking his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. Gone were the moments of easy teasing, replaced with a hesitancy that wasn't there before. George doesn't know what's going on, but he doesn't like it.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?"

Luz grins at the available exit out of their unexpectedly awkward dialogue. "Fuck yeah. What d'ya wanna watch?"

"Nothing you can quote."

"C'mon. It's half the fun!"

Joe snorts. "Not for me."

They end up settling for one of the James Bond movies; George can't remember which one. He'd never really been into Bond movies, but at least they were slightly interesting. And at least Joe liked them; George swears he has never seen so many different facial expressions on Joe Toye in such a short amount of time.

"I'm gonna make popcorn," George pats Joe's knee, causing him to jump with a start. Luz initially ignores the reaction, but files it away. "You do have popcorn, right?"

Toye nods. "In the cabinet above the stove."

Sure enough, George produces a box of microwave popcorn, and soon the apartment is filled with the buttery scent. The microwave beeps amidst the pops of the kernels, and George pours the snack into a large bowl.

"You'd better not dump a shit ton of salt on that!" Joe calls, but it's too late. He groans when he notices George rapidly shaking the salt shaker with a mischievous smirk in his direction.

"Who eats popcorn without salt?"

"I do!"

George sticks out his tongue at him. "You're gross."

"That was childish."

"You see, Joe," George grins as plops down next to him. "I am childish."

Popping a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth, George smiles smugly over at his companion, who just rolls his eyes and takes a handful nonetheless.

"This is way too salty."

"You're too salty."

Toye sighs again, turning his attention back to the movie. Though George is snuggled under a blanket, Joe absolutely radiates body heat, and he finds himself drifting closer to him. Soon, he's nearly pressed against Joe's side, and the thought has his pulse quickening.

Joe seems to notice his proximity as well, shifting a bit on the couch. He doesn't seem uncomfortable, just cautious. George notices the sideways glances he gives him when he thinks George isn't looking, and that gives him the strength to close the distance between them and let himself sink into Joe's side.

Toye's arm drifts around George's shoulders, lightly pulling him closer. "You're shivering."

George laughs shortly. "I told you, I get cold. You're like a space heater, but better."

Joe doesn't respond, but the small smile on his lips is answer enough. George sighs, pulling another blanket around himself as he forces his body not to go to sleep. It seems to have other ideas, however, because he is soon lulled to sleep by Joe's steady breathing and the dim light of the TV.  
  
The next morning, George awakes to the smell of bacon. He sits up from the couch, the memories of last night flooding his brain. He grins at the sight of Joe, shirtless and sweatpants wearing, flipping bacon and scrambling eggs in frying pans on the stove.

"Morning," George rasps, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What's all this?"

Joe shrugs. "Thought I'd make you something better than cereal. 'Sides, I like to cook, and it's nice making food for more than one person."

"Breakfast in bed," George muses, reclining back onto the couch with his hands behind his head. "I like the sound of that."

"Don't get used to it," Toye warns, pointing his spatula teasingly at the other man. "I'm usually out of here by seven-thirty to open the gym. You're lucky I have off this weekend."

"That I am," Luz agrees, grabbing his phone to flick through his messages and emails before Joe sets a steaming plate of food and a mug of coffee down in front of him.

"Before you ask, there's way too much sugar in that coffee, but it's all there. And some 2% milk," he adds with a grin, nodding toward the blue mug sat in front of George. "I hope you like it."

"Joe, I fucking love you," he mumbles through a mouthful of food, groaning in delight. Joe again rubs the back of his neck nervously, a small grin gracing his face.

"Like I said, don't get used to it."

George is soon joined by Joe on the couch, both of them quietly eating their breakfasts until Toye unexpectedly breaks the silence.

"You could move your clothes into the closet in my bedroom," he offers nonchalantly, swallowing down a bit of eggs. "This apartment is small, but it's got good storage."

George grins over at him. "Thanks, Joe. I really appreciate you takin' me in."

He shrugs. "Eh, it's no big deal. You're not as much of a burden as you may think."

Joe's tone is light and teasing, but George catches a hint of _something_ else tinging his voice. Luz is scared, no, _terrified_ , to bring anything up about what he or Joe is feeling. They'd been completely normal, albeit slightly flirtatious, friends ever since that night, but now they're practically living together. The closeness is almost too much.

"You done?" Joe asks, glancing pointedly at George's mostly empty plate.

He nods, shoveling the last few bits of French toast into his mouth. "Yup."

Joe takes his plate with a chuckle, resting both of theirs in the sink. "I'm gonna take a shower. Make yourself at home."

George nods again, trying to block out the images of a wet, naked Joe from his mind. When the water clicks on from the other room, George can't help but stifle a groan at the idea of being pressed against the steamy glass door of the shower, the water hot but Joe hotter against him.

 _Nope_. He doesn't have time to take care of things now, so he tries to think of something else, _anything_ else. Unfortunately, his mind drifts to falling asleep against Joe the night prior, to the New Year's party seven months ago.

_It was nearly midnight, and the booze had been flowing for hours on end. Nixon knew how to throw a party, and Nixon also knew how to get everyone (including himself) spectacularly drunk._

_Luz had just been chatting with Lip before Carwood excused himself to deal with Ron, who, to George's utmost amusement, is a very handsy drunk. Not one to go without social contact for long, George scanned the room for someone to talk to, deciding against Webster for the sheer fact that he was flanked by Liebgott, who is quite the possessive drunk himself._

_It was then, staring at the staircase to the basement and the staircase upstairs, that George realized he would not be changing floors all night. He was already unsteady on his feet, the world moving in a slow, syrupy motion around him. That left the small group of Bill, Babe, and Roe, who George figured would be a decent choice. Roe's a doctor anyway, if he passes out he'll be able to take care of him._

_"Hey, fellas!" He greets, earning an affectionate slap on the back and an "Aye, George," from Bill and a rather drunken slur of "Hiiiiiiii," from Babe, who was listing dangerously to the right. Eugene just smiled tiredly over at him, one arm bracing his boyfriend as he continued to gesticulate wildly and sloppily about some story to Bill._

_"And, ya know, he was all like, 'Let's go home, c'mon,' and I was like 'No, I gotta boyfriend who's really hot,'" Babe sighs happily, beaming over at Gene, who just smiles softly in return. "And then I r-realized that it-it was Gene!"_

_He laughs loudly, Bill offering him a sympathetic chuckle. "You might wanna sit down, Babe. Drink some water."_

_Roe nods. "I think that's a good idea, Edward. Let's find a couch or somethin'."_

_Bill chuckles, glancing over at George. "I tell ya, tha' boy can't hold his liquor. Another beer?"_

_George knows it's against his better judgment, but it's a party and George has to go back to work in two days. "Sure."_

_So he accepts, taking a swig from his bottle almost immediately. It's nothing like the shots he was doing earlier, by at this point, any alcohol will soon have him unable to stand._

_"Ya know, you should get out there more, George," Bill remarks, clapping him on the shoulder. "When's the last time you had a date?"_

_George shrugs. "I can't remember," he answers honestly. "Haven't found the right one."_

_"Ya can't remember?" Bill repeats incredulously, his eyes widening. "A man's got needs!"_

_Luz chuckles lightly. "'M not sayin' I haven't had any one night flings... but they're just not my style. I'm not a kind of hit and run type of guy."_

_Bill nods through a sip of his beer. "I could set ya up with someone. I'm sure I could find you a nice man."_

_"Eh, that's alright, Bill," he replies, staring down into his drink. "I'm alright."_

_"No, seriously! I'll do it," Bill ensures before his attention is turned to a rather large figure entering the room. "Joe! Ya know any guys that would go on a date with Georgie here?"_

_Fuck. Luz wants to shrink down into the floor and run away, as the sole reason why he's not dating is now standing in front of him, looking tantalizingly flushed from the alcohol. Joe laughs slightly, glancing between Bill and George._

_"What, you playin' matchmaker now?"_

_Bill grins. "This man hasn't had a date for as long as he can remember. That's not okay."_

_"I guess it isn't," Toye agrees, a mischievously glint in his eyes as he sneaks a look over at George. "I'll keep my eyes open, but Babe's askin' for you, Bill."_

_Bill sighs. "Alright, I gotta go. I'll text ya, George."_

_Joe smirks over at the suspiciously quiet Luz. "Saved ya. What do I get in return?"_

_George matches Joe's smirk with one of his own, bold from the alcohol coursing through his veins. "You name it, you've got it. I'm yours."_

_Joe's mouth goes dry, not drunk enough to miss the darkness of the smaller man's eyes or the implication he just made. But George doesn't back down, meeting his eyes second for second, and he's suddenly closing the gap between them._

_Toye doesn't know what overtook him in that moment, but his breath is hot on George's neck as he whispers to him._

_"There's a guest bedroom down that hallway."_

_Everything happened so fast, from Joe's drunken proposition to George's drunken acceptance, to making out in the hallway before stumbling into the bedroom, locking the door behind them. It wasn't two drunk and horny friends making stupid decisions, but there wasn't the promise of a tomorrow between them. Ever since their hook up, they had been in this strange, almost dangerous limbo of friends with occasional, mostly drunken benefits._

_That one night stand hadn't been the only time they'd been together, there were a few more instances in the following months of using each other for pleasure when the other wasn't getting any. But they had stayed friends, and since work got more stressful, George and Joe hadn't done anything for nearly three months._

George sighs, tired of contemplating what they were like some protagonist of a cheesy romance movie. He then remembers that Joe offered him a closet for his clothes, and he decides to grab his suitcase and move into the bedroom.

Finding the almost empty closet easily, George begins unpacking his clothes into onto the shelves and hangers available. He doesn't even realize that the door to the en suite opens until he hears the "Shit!" from behind him.

He turns, gaping like a fish at the stark naked Joe frozen in place, the towel that should've been around his waist in his hands, stopped in the process of drying off his hair.

"Hot damn," George whistles, unabashedly raking his eyes up and down Joe's body. _No use turning back now._

"You look better than I remember," he breathes, the air sucked out of his lungs. Joe still doesn't move, eyeing George carefully.

"Are we gonna talk about this now?" Joe asks, resting his hands on his hips and looking both amused and exasperated. "I was gonna wait 'til we could loosen up with a couple beers or somethin'."

"Ah, well," George clears his throat. "Either you put some pants on and we discuss this now, or I jump you and we discuss this later."

"While the idea of you jumping me is not entirely bad," Joe reaches from a pair of boxers laid on his bed, stepping into them. "We should probably discuss this now."

"Right," George mumbles. "Like mature adults."

"We can be mature adults later," Joe winks, sending shivers down George's spine. They've suddenly switched places, with George retreating into silence and Joe chatting too flirtatiously for a man who was just standing naked in front of his object of flirtation.

"I guess this means you want to keep fucking?" George asks, keeping his eyes trained on the floor in front of him.

"I mean, if I read this all wrong and you don't want to —"

"No, no," Luz sighs, finally forcing his gaze to meet Joe's. "That's not it. Jesus, that's not it at all. You're gorgeous and sexy and your voice turns me on —"

Joe smirks cheekily over at him, and George can't help but chuckle. "Shut up. But I can't _just_ keep fucking you, Joe."

"There's someone else?" Toye asks, his face falling.

"No! No, what I mean is..." he sighs again. "I meant what I said this morning. I really fucking love you."

"That was cheesy," Joe murmurs, and George shoves him good-naturedly. "But I'd like to give it a shot. The whole couple thing."

The beam that stretches across George's face is bright enough to nearly blind Joe. He laughs only for it to be smothered by George's lips, suddenly finding the other man in his lap.

"I thought you said if I put pants on your wouldn't jump me?"

"Those are not pants," George replies pointedly. "And it's later, so we can be mature adults now."

"It's ten in the morning," Joe grumbles half-heartedly. George just grins into their next kiss, only stopping when they need to gasp for air.

"I'm sorry this is all moving so fast," Toye breathes into George's ear, nipping his earlobe gently, producing a slight yelp of surprise from the smaller man.

"What in our relationship went slowly?" He replies breathlessly, his lips red and swollen and utterly enticing. Joe just smirks into his neck, bringing him back onto the bed with him.

That night, having barely left the bed all day, the two of them decide to watch Netflix in the bedroom with a pizza to share.

"Have you seen _Stranger Things_? 'Cause it is fucking awesome," George comments as Joe scrolls through the programs, remote in hand.

"I'll watch it if you limit yourself on the commentary."

"Deal."

Joe sighs in mock annoyance as George shoves another piece of pizza into his mouth. "You better not get crumbs on my bed."

"Hey, last time I checked, this was my bed too," Luz grins cheekily, earning an eye roll from his boyfriend.

"Who the hell moves in together the moment they say 'I love you'?"

George shrugs. "Thank the termites."

"I guess I'll thank the termites."

**Author's Note:**

> *sings* I love Luztoye
> 
> Honestly, I really need to write some Luztoye smut. The world needs more of it. Does anyone have any ideas for a good smut scenario for the two of them? Feel free to let me know on here or on Tumblr @InsightfulInsomniac


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